MYRA MYRAWhat a revelation it’s been to write this cookbook. I am thrilled to have assembled so many tasty and tempting purely plant-based recipes, and to have done so in collaboration with my beloved daughter, Marea. Although I haven’t become a vegan or given up foods I’ve always loved, I’ve learned that vegan food can offer tremendous abundance and variety to meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans alike. With the introduction of these new recipes into my life, I feel better nourished, extra energized, and more joyful about food than ever before.
Although I grew up eating mostly processed foods and very little fresh produce, my diet has been very healthy for the past twenty years. Living on our original two-and-a-half-acre organic farm (where we launched Earthbound Farm), I have had constant access to fresh organic produce. Because I eat a lot of salads, whole grains, and lean meats, I thought I couldn’t do much better, so I was surprised by the riches and variety a plant-based diet had to offer.
When Marea and I decided to write a vegan cookbook, we began creating delicious and satisfying meals without a chicken breast or piece of steak at the center of the plate. Vegan means no animal products at all—no meat, fish, dairy, or eggs; not even honey (because it comes from bees). This project meant learning to utilize the vast selection of plant foods that come straight from the earth: fresh vegetables pulled from the soil or picked off the vine; sweet bush and tree fruit; the many tastes and colors of beans, peas, lentils, grains, and rice; and a huge variety of nuts and seeds.
Being so focused on personal and environmental health, I eat organic whenever possible. I’ve always known that I should eat fewer animal products, but until recently, I could never have imagined writing a vegan cookbook. I love meat and dairy, and was convinced that I needed to eat them in substantial quantities to feel satisfied. But then I started to notice that a lot of my favorite meals just happened to be vegan. The huge salad topped with roasted beets, beans, and pumpkin seeds from our farm stand; our delicious curry split pea soup; my pasta with heirloom tomato sauce—which my son refuses to sprinkle with Parmesan because he doesn’t want to alter its perfect taste; the hummus and tomato sandwiches I rely on. It became clear to me that I was eating—and enjoying—a purely plant-based diet far more than I realized.
At the same time, Marea was in college at UC Berkeley, living in a co-op where many of the residents were vegan (Marea wasn’t one of them). To make sure everyone could partake, none of the communal meals could contain any animal products whatsoever. Marea has always been a naturally confident and creative cook, but she didn’t cook very often while living at home. Nonetheless, for her work shift she signed up with a friend to cook dinner every Sunday—for sixty people! Without too much planning, and using mostly ingredients regularly stocked in the co-op’s fridge and pantry, they conjured up delicious multi-course meals every week. I was fascinated by the way Marea applied her creative mind and natural resourcefulness to come up with a whole array of wonderful new recipes.
I called Marea every Saturday, inevitably when she was busy and didn’t have time to talk. But I just had to ask, “What are you making for dinner tomorrow?” And then Monday I had to check in: “How did it turn out?”
Most of their meals had an ethnic theme. One of Marea’s favorites was a Thai dinner, complete with fresh spring rolls and delicious Thai coconut soup. Another night, their Vietnamese dinner earned them a standing ovation. I immediately begged her to come home and make that identical dinner for us. Not only was I proud, I was inspired.
Writing this cookbook together has highlighted the lifelong bonds we share and made us closer. Although Marea and I are alike in many ways, in other ways we are polar opposites. A clear example is our hair. I’ve had the same long hair my whole life with a length that has only varied by a few inches. Marea had long hair until she turned nineteen, when she cut it all off to see what short hair felt like. Next she experimented with a Mohawk, then shaved her head, and is now back to short hair. She’s brave and confident enough to shake things up. And that goes for her cooking style as well, which is imaginative and bold, unencumbered by convention.
Initially, I worried that Marea’s cooking style might be too unconventional for a cookbook. When she mentioned the ingredients in her Caesar salad dressing, my first reaction was “You can’t put curry in a Caesar and still call it a Caesar!” That’s me, the traditionalist. But then our family tried it for dinner, and we all agreed that it tasted fabulous. So we compromised: I could go with it if we could find an adjective to qualify “Caesar.” After a lot of ideas that didn’t quite capture its essence, Marea came up with the word “eccentric.” Perfect—just like her salad. So there it is, Marea’s “Eccentric Caesar Salad,” right on page 61 of this book.
Most of Marea’s recipes have a unique twist, and she applies that same imagination to my recipes. Marea loosens me up and inspires me to be more brave and adventurous.
She insisted on orange zest in my Banana Bread with Macadamia Nuts and Bittersweet Chocolate (page 33), which perfected the taste. She suggested spices I never would have thought of adding to my corn soup (see page 81)—coriander, paprika, and cayenne—taking it from very good to great. On the flip side, Marea loves really spicy and tart foods, so I’ve encouraged her to mellow her recipes so that they can appeal to a wider range of people. I beseeched her to reduce the vinegar in her Stuffed Mushrooms with Arugula, Walnuts, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (page 102), and I had to restrain her from adding avocado to almost every recipe, including her Three-Berry Smoothie (page 43).
Many of the recipes in this book are true mother-daughter collaborations. Creating these recipes together pushed us both to new heights of enthusiasm and creativity. Coming up with new vegan recipes sparked my culinary imagination like never before. Fish tacos are a regular dinner at our house, so for this book I wanted to create a vegan version that would satisfy us. If I hadn’t been looking for a fish alternative, I would never have come up with Plantain Tacos with Pureed Black Beans and Mango-Lime Salsa (page 155), a Caribbean-style dish that is out of this world. In the past, I added dairy to every smoothie, but now I’m enjoying our Tropical Green Smoothie (page 40) with a coconut water base. It’s incredibly tasty, healthy, and refreshing. Marea and I both love falafels, but the sauce typically includes yogurt, so she invented a roasted cashew sauce that is amazingly delicious and makes our Baked Falafel Pitas (page 146) extra special.
Along the way, I had many more wonderful food discoveries. Marea introduced me to creamy, nutty hemp seeds, which make a great alternative to Parmesan on pasta dishes and salads—plus they are packed with healthy oils, protein, and iron. I learned about the benefits of coconut oil and the amazing properties of chia seeds. I realized that my use of butter and cheese was really habitual, and how easy it was to substitute different ingredients. I figured out how to make pancakes with flaxseed instead of eggs, and soymilk instead of cow’s milk—pancakes that my son says are the best he’s ever tasted! I grew to prefer my rich and flavorful Slow-Simmered Beans with Tuscan Kale on Bulgur (page 139) to pork chops or a hamburger.
I’m also thrilled that all vegan food is compostable; in fact, it stays fresh longer than food with animal products, so less is wasted. And I was ecstatic to realize I can eat my cookie dough without worrying about getting sick from raw eggs.
The vegan recipes we’ve created have enriched my understanding and appreciation of food straight from the earth—and all that the earth provides. These dishes are teeming with vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients. Plant foods are full of healthy fiber, while there is none in animal products. And we need to be concerned about cholesterol in animal products, but there is none in plant foods.
Many people wonder if vegan food can provide enough protein and other key nutrients like calcium and iron. To answer that question, we approached Ashley Koff, RD, a well-known dietitian who advised us and reviewed all the nutritional information in this book. She told us:
“There are two nutrition certainties: that a plant-based diet is the healthiest choice for you and for the environment, and that the quality of the food you put in your body matters. People will continue to debate which ‘diet’ is the healthiest—either from parts of the world (i.e. the Mediterranean, Japan, China, etc.) or what nutrients we should eat more or less of (carbs, protein, fats, types of carbs, types of proteins, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals). But when one eats primarily plants, and especially a large variety of plants, it’s proven that the body gets what it needs to develop, function, and repair as needed. The only nutrient not found in vegan food is B12, so that should be supplemented if you’re eating a totally vegan diet.”
As I began to run nutritional information on our vegan recipes, I was astonished at how loaded with nutrients they are—even most of the desserts. We’re sharing this information at the end of every recipe because it’s exciting to know that food so delicious also delivers so many health benefits. Although it’s possible to be an unhealthy vegan (soda, candy, and most French fries are vegan, too), a diet focused on consuming a wide variety of whole, unprocessed plant-based foods is clearly the healthiest.
To see if our recipes could satisfy the pickiest carnivores, I asked Pam McKinstry to test many of them. Pam is a classically trained chef who relies heavily on eggs, dairy, and meat. She has authored eight cookbooks (including collaborating with me on my first two cookbooks), and frankly, she was a bit horrified when I asked if she would test recipes for a vegan cookbook. My biggest boost of confidence came when she reported back on our dishes. In her own words:
“My skepticism probably showed at the idea of working on a vegan cookbook, but I was astonished (along with my Irish husband, who is disappointed at any meal without meat) at how good everything tasted. Almost every recipe we trialed got rave reviews, and we never missed the meat. Best of all was the introduction to so many foods we had never eaten before. As a professional chef, it’s embarrassing to admit that I’ve never cooked with coconut oil, hemp, flax or chia seeds, tempeh, or raw cashews. Now whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds will play a much more central role in my cooking.”
Many people assume that eating plant-based meals regularly will be boring, and will increase their cravings for meat. My husband and I made those same assumptions. Drew loves throwing meat on the barbecue. When I started this book, he knew that the majority of our meals would be plant-based, and he was skeptical. He expected food that was strange, not tasty, and not filling enough. But because he is a wonderful husband, a committed environmentalist, and has the best palate in the family, he was willing to try.
This time, the surprise was on Drew. He didn’t become a vegan, but he’s definitely a convert. Here’s what he says now:
“My expectations were so different from my experience. I really thought that the more I ate vegan food, the more I would crave animal products—but it’s been the complete opposite. Now I want less meat and less often; it’s become less appealing to me than it was. My whole eating pattern has shifted. I’ve become more mindful of what I eat and that makes me enjoy it more. These are all dishes a true omnivore can eat without feeling as if you’re sacrificing.”
I originally envisioned this book as a collection of “vegan recipes for omnivores,” because I figured vegans had their food all figured out and only carnivores needed enticement. I had also assumed that since I eat animal products and my first two books contained recipes with meat, this cookbook might not be embraced by vegans. Another surprise! After vegan friends tried and loved these recipes, I happily expanded the concept to “vegan food for everyone.”
Our goal in writing this cookbook is not to turn omnivores into vegans. Rather, it’s to offer a diverse and delicious collection of recipes that makes choosing more plant-based meals too tempting to resist. “Vegan” has been a mysterious and slightly scary term to many people, and we want to demystify it—to let everyone know that eating vegan is a wonderful choice to make as often as possible.
When I observe the growing enthusiasm for vegan food, I always get a feeling of déjà vu, because this same transformation happened with organic food. In 1984, when Drew and I started Earthbound Farm, organic food was considered strange, unappealing, hippie food. Now, thirty years later, “organic” stands for safe, delicious, high-quality food. Today we are beginning to see the same shift happen with vegan food, for many of the same reasons. Every time you choose something organic, or enjoy a mostly vegan meal instead of grilling up a big steak, you’re making a positive impact on your health and helping to protect our planet.
These recipes also provide a great way to make food that can be enjoyed by friends and family who have varying diets. These recipes provide common ground, ideal for vegans and carnivores to eat together; they’re perfect for a vegan to serve non-vegan guests and vice versa. Everyone is invited to the table!
What you’re holding in your hands is the result of more than a year of me and Marea passionately creating, testing, and recording our favorite vegan recipes—all of which passed the carnivore taste test. We hope this book will open the doors to vegan cooking for you—just like it did for us.
Here’s some of what you’ll find on these pages:
Finally, in the appendices, you’ll find the following additional information:
MAREAI’m lucky: I grew up with the land. While a lot of American children ordered fast food for dinner, I was fed baby greens in my high chair and taught to garden. So many of our family’s home videos highlight my brother’s and my educational training in the garden, trying with all our concentration to correctly pronounce the words: “cawots,” “poetae-toes,” “celawy.” We learned that tomatoes and corn grow in the summer, and that raspberries are best picked straight from the vine. We learned that it really is good to eat our broccoli.
I spent a lot of time with my mom in the kitchen. As soon as I got old enough, I helped her chop vegetables for dinner. Many nights I took on the role of her sous-chef. Although I was a faithful helper, my mom was really most proud of the way I could eat. As a mother who loves to feed her family, she often boasted about her small daughter’s enormous appetite and joyfully watched me clean my plate. Needless to say, cooking and eating was, and is, a central part of our family’s connection.
When I was in college, I moved into a vegan co-op. We sourced all our food from local and organic farms and ate most of our meals communally. It was there that I really learned to cook. Once a week, I prepared a meal for dozens of people, with only whole, plant-based ingredients. Cooking for that many every week, I learned to get creative. I learned that raw kale becomes deliciously digestible when massaged with something acidic like lemon juice or vinegar. I learned to use nutritional yeast for its satisfying cheese-like flavor, and to experiment with surprising spices. I learned, most importantly, the amazing joy of sharing food with friends.
After my junior year of college, I took some time off to travel in South America. So many of my favorite memories from that trip revolve around delicious foods and the cultures that revealed themselves to me through flavor. Every time I had the privilege of eating a meal with someone in their home, I learned more and more about the culture and the people of the places I visited. I got to know Brazil through the amazing fragrances of vegetables simmering in spicy coconut milk and the sticky texture of jackfruit on my fingers. Argentina’s dedication to drinking yerba mate (a caffeinated infused beverage) became a practice I brought home. Even while I was traveling from place to place, never staying anywhere for too long, I got to relax into the grounding fact that, well, everybody eats. There is a special power in food, the way it brings people together, and the way that it can make even the most transitory traveler feel at home.
Food is still a central part of my life. I find solace in my kitchen, chopping onions and zucchini, meditating on magic combinations of herbs and spices. I worship garlic. My friends know me as The Feeder—I relish every “yes” to the question “Are you hungry?” because, like my mom, I love to help people feel full. I’m not a strict kitchen-dweller, however. Sometimes I’ll get takeout Thai food or a quick burrito on the go. But even on those days when I feel too tired to cook for myself, my intimate relationship with food doesn’t wane. I stay connected to the joy and the vital importance of eating.
This book has been an opportunity to express my love of food. In these pages, I have synthesized the experiences of the little girl who grew up pulling carrots out of tender earth with those of the young adult who learned to cook creatively for big groups of friends.
This book is also a special convergence of my mother’s and my distinctive cooking styles and personalities, and a tribute to the intergenerational connection made available through food in my family. How special is it that I get to write a cookbook with the woman who fed me so generously for the first part of my life? Our mother-daughter connection is the pulse of this cookbook and is, definitely, the main reason I feel so connected to food. With this project, I hope to also extend a piece of myself to my future children and the generations to come.
This cookbook is by no means a prescription for how to eat. It is an invitation to indulge in your own creative expression of preparing, eating, and sharing whole, fresh ingredients. I hope that you make these recipes your own by adding a dash of your personality to every meal you prepare. Like me, I hope you grow to love these recipes with all your heart.
